NLDS Preview: Cardinals vs. Dodgers

This has potential to be the best of the first round playoff series. Great pitching and a lot of offense are the strengths for both of these teams. The acquisition of Matt Holliday is working out pretty well, he was straight murdering the ball right away. He's back down to earth since then, but is definitely a key part of the Cardinals offense. The Dodgers had some trouble closing out the season, and Manny Ramirez has looked like...well... a guy that's no longer on steroids, but there's always a chance he'll find his stick in the playoffs, and between him, Matt Kemp, and Andre Ethier there's a lot of danger for a quick burst of offense.


Cardinals Player to Watch:

Matt Holliday, St. Louis definitely does not regret going after this guy as he has solidified himself as a key part of the Cardinals offense, which really wasn't all that bad to begin with...Albert Pujols, maybe you've heard of him? Let's not forget that Holliday's a free agent after this, so he'll definitely want to use this opportunity to fatten up any potential contract that's on the horizon after this postseason, I'm expecting big things from him.

Honorable Mentions: Ryan Ludwick, Chris Carpenter, Ryan Franklin

Dodgers Player to Watch:

Clayton Kershaw, this kid got off to a great start this season before a shoulder injury hampered him. He's been kinda sketchy ever since. The Dodgers need their pitching in general to come up big and keep up with the superior Cardinals staff.

Honorable Mentions: Andre Ethier, Jonathan Broxton, Manny Ramirez

The Prediction:

While it does have potential to be the best matchup, to me the Cardinals pitching staff is just too good, and the Dodgers have too many question marks at the wrong time of the season. Carpenter, Wainwright, and Piniero are a lethal 1-2-3 punch and just might be enough to get a clean sweep of the Dodgers right back to Mannywood to lick their wounds. Speaking of, ManRam has been in a big slump lately and I just don't think he'll recover. The Cardinals get the edge in every aspect of this one to me, I like them to sweep.

Cardinals in 3

NLDS Preview: Rockies vs. Phillies

Pitching, pitching, and more pitching is what this series comes down to. The Phillies have one of the strongest rotations in the postseason with a couple of Cy Young winners, World Series MVP, and possibly a Rookie of the Year. However, the Rockies pitching is a lot more improved than it was in 2006. They're the only team in the majors to have all 5 starters reach double digit wins, and Jason Marquis continues his unlikely streak of playing in the postseason for 10 straight years but hasn't been looking sharp as of late. The Phillies have been a little shaky as of late, but definitely are ready to defend their title. The giant question mark is Brad Lidge who was perfect for saves last year, this year he's been anything but.

Rockies Player to Watch:

Ubaldo Jimenez, the Rockies need Ubaldo to step up big time and shut down the Phillies right away in Game 1. I'm thinking he will be the key to their postseason success.

Honorable Mentions: Troy Tulowitzski, Todd Helton


Phillies Player to Watch:

Brad Lidge, all eyes will be on Brad Lidge assuming the Phillies do indeed keep him in the closer spot for the postseason. I have a feeling he will be on a very short leash, don't be surprised if he gets yanked in favor of Ryan Madson if he finds himself in any kind of trouble. The Phillies know Lidge was one of the heroes of 2008 but they want to give themselves the best chance to win again in '09.

Honorable Mentions: Cliff Lee, Raul Ibanez, J.A. Happ


The Prediction:

The Rockies steal one away from the Phillies at The Bank and when Philadelphia travels to Denver, bullpen uncertainties eventually lead to their demise. The Rockies are damn near as hot as they were two years ago, and a large chunk of that team is still on the roster so they know how to win postseason games. The Phillies have the overall better lineup and rotation, but the Rockies will use clutch hitting and solid outings from starters to send the Phillies home.

Rockies in 4

Pittsburgh Pirates: Eternal Rebuilders

I think this image sums up the Pirates organization rather well. And that doesn't even include other players they've traded like Nyjer Morgan, Sean Burnett, Damaso Marte, Jose Bautista, and some others I'm probably missing.

Paul Maholm, Zach Duke, and Ryan Doumit are pretty much the only players remaining from 2008's squad. We'll see how this all pans out for them a few years down the road. Is it even possible for them to make anymore trades?

I Miss Matt Garza and Jason Bartlett

Watching the Twins struggle of late makes me really wonder how we would be sitting if we still had Jason Bartlett and Matt Garza instead of Delmon Young and Matt Garza. What are our pressing needs right now? Middle infield and pitching.

Not that Brendan Harris has been terrible, but let's take a look at his and Bartlett's stats this year:

Harris:

BA	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG
.263	5	26	.306	.373

Bartlett

BA	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG
.341	8	41	.391	.522

Yeah.

I mean look at our middle infield!

Alexi Casilla

BA	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG
.168	0	6	.247	.203

And here I thought Alexi was having a Denard Span-esque breakout last season only to see that awesome .168 average this season.

Nick Punto

BA	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG
.202	1	18	.316	.241

WE'RE PAYING NICK PUNTO $4 MILLION THIS YEAR AND $4.5 MILLION NEXT YEAR.




Matt Tolbert

BA	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG
.178	1	12	.272	.225

Casilla...Tolbert...doesn't matter, both are having absolutely nauseating years at the plate.


Don't worry, Bill Smith has a plan! What? Trade for Jack Wilson or Freddy Sanchez? No way! Trade for Orlando Cabrera? No need! Hey what's Mark Grudzielanek doing? Nothing? Ya don't say! Get that man a contract! The sad thing is, if Grudzielanek does at least somewhat as good as he did last year he would be a drastic improvement over the rest of the garbage at middle infield. I never did get the Twins' fetish for giving ancient players one last chance... it never works. Why can't we just suck it up and make a trade. It's stupid front office moves like this that's gonna make Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau question if they actually wanna stay in Minnesota.

Anyways, back to the Rays trade.

I didn't like the trade from the beginning...I loved Bartlett and Garza and saw the potential they both had. Well that potential carried the TAMPA BAY (devil) RAYS TO THE WORLD F*#$ING SERIES! I was at least excited about the prospect of Delmon Young coming to Minnesota...former number 1 pick with a ton of upside. Well all I keep hearing about is that stupid upside and all he's done is grossly underperform. He was supposed to provide a power boost and solid hitting and has really done neither. Oh yeah and his defense kinda sucks too.

Can we please have a do-over? Between this trade and the Santana trade it's like all this bad karma is coming back from the A.J. Pierzynski for Joe Nathan, Boof Bonser, and Francisco Liriano trade. Or maybe it's just that Bill Smith is a jackass and far from a Terry Ryan.

Schrempf Scampi's 2009 MLB Predictions

The entire staff was asked to make predictions about who will make playoffs and who will win what awards. We will check back on this during the season so we can make fun of how wrong we will inevitably be.

BOOBS:

==AL==
East Champ: Rays
Central Champ: Indians
West Champ: Angels
Wildcard: Yankees

ALCS: Rays over Yankees

MVP: Evan Longoria
Cy Young: Felix Hernandez
Rookie of the Year: Matt Wieters

==NL==
East Champ: Braves
Central Champ: Cubs
West Champ: Dodgers
Wildcard: Phillies

NLCS : Cubs over Phillies

MVP: Aramis Ramirez
Cy Young: Tim Lincecum
Rookie of the Year: Tommy Hanson


World Series Champ: Rays over Cubs

Bold, Random Prediction: Oakland is out of contention at the trade deadline and deal Matt Holliday to the Rays for prospects. Holliday leads the Rays to their first world series victory and is named world series MVP. ((The following offseason he signs with the Yankees for 108 million)
--
Vanilla Gorilla:

==AL==
East Champ: Yankees
Central Champ: Indians
West Champ: Angels
Wildcard:Rays

ALCS: Angels over Indians

MVP: Grady Sizemore
Cy Young: John Lackey
Rookie of the Year: David Price

==NL==
East Champ: Phillies
Central Champ: Cardinals
West Champ: Dodgers
Wildcard: Braves

NLCS : Dodgers over Phillies

MVP: Manny Ramirez
Cy Young: Johan Santana
Rookie of the Year: Jeff Samardzija


World Series Champ: Angels over Dodgers

Bold, Random Prediction: The Braves' team ERA returns to the top 2 in the NL with the help of the offseason acquisitions-which help them return to the playoffs for the first time in 4 years
--
Tenny

==AL==
East Champ: Yankees
Central Champ: Indians
West Champ: Angels
Wildcard: Twins

ALCS: Angels over Yankees

MVP: Vladimir Guerrero
Cy Young: CC Sabathia
Rookie of the Year: Matt LaPorta


==NL==
East Champ: Phillies
Central Champ: Brewers
West Champ: Dodgers
Wildcard: Cubs

NLCS : Dodgers over Phillies

MVP: Manny Ramirez
Cy Young: Johan Santana
Rookie of the Year: Jeff Samardzija


World Series Champ: Angels over Dodgers

Bold, Random Prediction: Francisco Liriano wins 20 games.
--
Pederman

==AL==
East Champ: Rays
Central Champ: Royals
West Champ: Athletics
Wildcard: Twins

ALCS: Rays over Twins

MVP: Justin Morneau
Cy Young: Joakim Soria
Rookie of the Year: Matt Wieters


==NL==
East Champ: Marlins
Central Champ: Cardinals
West Champ: Diamondbacks
Wildcard: Braves

NLCS : Cardinals over Braves

MVP: Hanley Ramirez
Cy Young: Jake Peavy
Rookie of the Year: Colby Rasmus


World Series Champ: Rays over Cardinals

Bold, Random Prediction: Gil Meche and Zach Greinke each win 20 games; Jose Reyes steals 100 bases.
--
JP

==AL==
East Champ: Red Sox
Central Champ: Indians
West Champ: Angels
Wildcard: Rays

ALCS: Angels over Indians

MVP: Josh Hamilton
Cy Young: Roy Halladay
Rookie of the Year: David Price


==NL==
East Champ: Mets
Central Champ: Cubs
West Champ: Dodgers
Wildcard: Phillies

NLCS : Mets over Dodgers

MVP: Hanley Ramirez
Cy Young: Johan Santana
Rookie of the Year: Cameron Maybin


World Series Champ: Mets over Angels

Bold, Random Prediction: The Royals will miss the playoffs by just a couple games and compete all year for a spot.
--
Ben15

==AL==
East Champ: Boston Red Sox
Central Champ: Cleveland Indians
West Champ: Oakland Athletics
Wild card: New York Yankees

ALCS: Red Sox over Indians

MVP: Grady Sizemore
Cy Young: Josh Beckett
Rookie of the Year: Matt Wieters

==NL==

East Champ: Philadelphia Phillies
Central Champ: Chicago Cubs
West Champ: Los Angeles Dodgers
Wild card: Florida Marlins

NLCS: Marlins over Cubs

MVP: Hanley Ramirez
Cy Young: Tim Lincecum
Rookie of the Year: Cameron Maybin

World Series Champ: Red Sox over Marlins

Bold, Random Prediction: Brad Penny contends for the AL Cy Young

The Dutch Kindly Tell the Dominicans to GTFO

The Dutch swapped their clogs for cleats and a funny thing happened on the way to Round 2 of the World Baseball Classic...Team Nederland beat the heavily-favored Dominican Republic twice...TWICE! This is easily the biggest sports upset of the year thus far, but will nonetheless be very under appreciated. Let me help you to appreciate it:

Let's take a look at some comparisons between the two national teams.

--Current MLB Players--
Dominican Republic: 23
The Netherlands: 2

You know who one of the 2 Dutch players are? None other than Sir Sidney Ponson, who recorded the W in the first win over Dominicana. 4 of the Dominican MLB players were all stars last year and I'll give you one guess how many Dutch players were all stars last season. If you said anything higher than zero, please... just leave. With a talent pool this deep, there's no reason the Dominicans should've lost once, or twice for that matter, to the Dutch.

--Career MLB Wins--
Dominicana:518
Nederland:95

Pretty one-sided statistic as it is, but watch what happens when you take away Sidney Ponson's win total:

Nederland: 5

Yep.

Clearly, the Dutch's success can be attributed to the sage wisdom of pitching coach Bert Blyleven.



--Career MLB Homers--

Dominican Republic: 1,801
Netherlands: 82

and my personal favorite:

--2008 MLB Salaries--

DOM: $83.4 million
NED: $0.4 million


Dominicana, you just got served in epic fashion by a country more famous for clog dancing and windmill cleaning than for anything even resembling baseball. This is comparable to Team U.S.A.'s olympic basketball struggles (post dream-team, pre redeem-team). Oh well, maybe this will give Edinson Volquez more time to clean his guns.


But enough making fun of the Dominicans for their failures, I don't want to take anything away from what the Dutch did. They came to play, and now they'll try to keep the dream alive in round 2. I couldn't imagine what would happen if the Dutch somehow found their way in the championship game. Bud Selig would be wise to cancel future World Baseball Classics, because there would be no topping that.

Good luck Netherlands..because as they say: Lekker is slechts een vinger lang!